If you’re at one of these colleges, congrats, you’re set up for success if you’re in the right program. One thing I can tell you for sure is that these kids aren’t graduating with liberal arts degrees. If you’re not at one of these colleges, consider a transfer or just bank on connections or go to grad school..

Really not all that interesting, considering the kids that get into the service academies are either very connected, extremely intelligent, or both. These aren’t your average joes. Plus, this is mid career pay, so after these graduates put in their 4-12 years, they have a meaningful degree, connections and an unmatched work ethic.

The military academies are all really good schools academically in addition to their military mission. A lot of their grads spend a decade or so in the armed forces and then move into normal white collar careers in medicine, engineering, law, whatever. A degree from Annapolis or West Point and ten years of military service on your resume is pretty damn impressive to any grad school or employer. These guys do well financially after their service ends.

Santa Clara is in the middle of Silicon Valley and has good engineering and business programs. It’s not Stanford-level elite or anything, but a lot of their graduates do get recruited into high-paying tech and finance jobs. Plus it’s a really expensive school so the kids who go there already come from rich families with lots of connections.